Petition against 40000 ghost teachers-cum-journalists filed

Karachi: A constitutional petition (CP) against 40,000 ghost teachers was field in the Sindh High Court (SHC) Tuesday. The CP had in particular focused on those teachers, who got jobs in government schools as teachers but they worked for print and electronic media as reporters. Such ghost teachers-cum-journalists had continued to drawing salary and perks and privilege from Sindh government.

The petitioner Advocate Mehfooz Yar Khan had in his petition carried details about the ghost teachers and stated that 522 ghost teachers were working as reporters with different print and electronic media while they were continuously drawing salaries and perks and privileges form Sindh Education Department, which was a fraud and heavy burden on tax-payers.

The petitioner had in his CP held Sindh Chief Secretary, Sindh secretary Education, Sindh Chief Minister and other relevant officials as respondents.

The petitioner appealed to the SHC to pass an immediate order for the stoppage of salaries of such 522 ghost teachers-cum-reporters while salaries of all ghost teachers should immediately be stopped and all the ghost teachers should be removed and those eligible for the post of teachers should be appointed as teachers on merit.

The petitioner also appealed to the higher court that the money drawn by those 40, 000 ghost teachers should be recovered and deposited to the provincial exchequer.

He also appealed to the higher court that the illegal occupation on schools by the influential should be removed so that the children of the respective areas might start attending schools.

It is pertinent to mention that the former provincial education Minister of Sindh from Pakistan People’s Party Pir Mazhar Ul Haq Shahnawaz had raised the issue of ghost teachers-cum-journalists in the Sindh Assembly and had asked all such workers of print and electronic media to quit one job, either as teacher or as media worker or else they would be dealt with in accordance to country’s existing laws. However, the issue was stuck and had yet to be resolved.